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In less than a week before the handover, does the transfer of sovereignty have any special meaning for our younger generation? A newly released youth poll reveals that more than 30 per cent of the respondents are looking forward to witnessing the historical moment while another 19 per cent consider the end of colonial government is of most significance to them. Meanwhile, some 20 per cent cannot think of any special meaning.
The survey consisted of telephone interviews conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups between 2 and 5 June. Of the total 507 respondents aged 15 to 29, approximately three quarters say they have not read the Basic Law.
When asked to state the most important factors for the success of the "one country, two systems" formula, over a quarter of the youngsters could not give an affirmative response. "Communication between Hong Kong and the Chinese Government" and "Chinese Government not intervening in the work of the HKSAR Government" were mentioned by 19.9 per cent and 17.8 per cent of the respondents respectively.
According to the young respondents, if they were given chance to meet with the Chief Executive, most of them would ask him to pay more attention on education and training matters. Another 25 per cent hoped that the Chief Executive would tackle the problems of drug abuse and juvenile delinquency.
The survey showed 60 per cent of the respondents were generally confident about the implementation of "one country, two systems" in the future. With 43.5 per cent thought that their family's standard of living would be the same whereas one-third would earn more money. Around a quarter disclosed they would learn more about China.
Concerning about the expections of the SAR Government, most respondents regarded housing, social welfare and education to be the top priorities for the future government. The majority of the young were also confident that these problems could be resolved.
On questions about local political parties, if 100 marks indicated total support, the Democratic Party gained an average rating of 58. It was followed by the Liberal Party (53.3), the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (51.3) and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (50.3). The newly merged Hong Kong Progressive Alliance scored the lowest rating at 44.8.
Youth Opinion Polls No. 44
